The cultivated land fertility affects the nutrient utilization of chemical fertilizers, which is the basic pathway to regulate the nutrient use efficiency (NUE). The research progresses in this field were reviewed from three aspects: the restriction mechanism of soil constraint factors on nutrient utilization, the promotion mechanism of soil fertility incubation on nutrient utilization, and the models for enhancing NUE by improving cultivated land fertility. For the main types of soil-crop systems, four scientific problems need to be clarified in terms of regulating NUE by fostering cultivated land fertility: temporal and spatial variation of correlation between soil fertility and NUE, the mechanisms for soil obstacles to restrict nutrient accumulation and transformation and its removing principle, the mechanisms and regulatory pathways for fertility incubation to promote root - soil - microbe interaction and the synergetic utilization of nutrients, the mechanisms and theories for coupling fertile cultivated layer construction and soil biological function improvement to enhance nutrient storage and supplies. Based on the comprehensive research at multi-temporal and spatial scales, the “dual core driven” soil fertility improvement theory should be developed, which combines the improvement of soil storage-release function and acceleration of nutrient recycling use. Finally the integrated cultivated land fertility management models should be established and applied to enhance NUE of chemical fertilizers in different regions, which could promote the fulfillment of the goal to reduce chemical fertilizer application in cultivated land at the regional scale.